Cats

Over the years I've had several cats and the first 3 (mother, daughter and grandson) were all kept indoors during the night but subsequent ones have been able to go out. I don't like it and would far rather they stayed in but the two we have now are like chalk and cheese. They hate each other and the oldest is such a wimp he runs rather than tough it out so spends most of his time in the summerhouse where he has a cat flap and several beds. He does come in at night for supper but is in and out during the night - quite often I find a half eaten mouse (or occasionally a live one he's lost ) when I come down. Yesterday we found a beautiful little rabbit dead outside - I don't actually think he'd killed it as there wasn't a mark on it so it probably died of fright. It didn't look like a wild rabbit either so sadly it must have escaped from someones garden - very sad - we tried to see it on the security camera - it wasn't there at one point of the recording but was at 5am with nothing in between so we don't know what happened.

The other cat we have only goes out into the back garden at odd times and wouldn't dream of toileting out there - she has two trays downstairs and 3 upstairs and uses them all! She sleeps with me so is not outside during the night and in the 9 years we've had her I've not seen her catch anything - she's terribly clumsy and not at all agile. She also now has no teeth so she'd struggle to hold on to a mouse even if she found one She was feral as a kitten which possibly explains her vicious streak but I still love her to bits as she's so quirky!

Maggie.

Our cat disappeared for about a month, a lady knocked on my door one morning, and said she’d seen him hit by a car, but had run off. We searched all the lanes, neighbors gardens, no sign of him, we thought he’d found somewhere quiet to go and die, then about a month later, there he was sat outside the French doors, as if he’d never been away.

Could it be because of the effects on the environment of cats hunting in the night?

Some cats are real predators

We have a cat belonging to my adult son who still lives at home and two kittens. One is his and one ours. The kittens stay in all of the time at the moment as have not had second vaccination yet but adult cat comes and goes through pet flap. She sleeps indoors but goes out to potty. Litter tray for kittens but adult cat never uses it. When kittens old enough I expect they will potty outside too. We keep gravel in corner of large garden and someone or something uses it because we poor more gravel on top quite often.

We have just the one old girl now and she only goes out when the vac appears (to shiver on the step till it’s packed away) or when it’s raining hard (nope, no idea ). She’s the last of a litter of three feral kittens though, and her brother and sister would have yowled the house down if we’d shut them in at night. Most hunting took place during the day, though one did once bring a bat in through the cat flap.

One went missing for a whole month, then reappeared in the kitchen one morning bold as brass and looking very well fed, never to roam again. Must have fallen out with his new family.

SalsaQueen I’d love Paddy to stay in more, he likes to visit his furry friends, thankfully we live in a quiet area. Mr Cooper looks very content

I always wanted a marmalade cat called Mr Cooper.?

Cor, what a life cats lead, no wonder they always look serene.

LadyGracie He's a gorgeous boy. My boy is fed 3 or 4 times a day, but he's indoors (he chooses to be) for about 20 hours of the day!

My cat comes in for his tea between 5 & 6pm and stays in till about 7am, he comes back at various times during the day for breakfast, elevenses, lunch and mid afternoon snack.

Mr Cooper

Phoenix He's a lovely boy, my Mr Cooper. The gentlest cat I've ever known

Best kept in overnight, our cat once went missing for a month
( we eventually found him) and kept him indoors at night after that.
They also catch more mice at night ( and take them indoors!)

Wow SalsaQueen that is one serious, " don't mess with me" looking handsome chap!

When we lived in a town we always kept our cats in at night - provided they would come when called! I had to imitate the squeak of the fridge door opening to get one of them to come.

Even after moving to the countryside, we tried to get them in at night. Now, though, one of them is 'adopted' - well, she adopted us - and has been accustomed from kittenhood to being able to go out at will. So the cat flap remains unlocked.

However, both cats stay in more often than not, or only stay out for a while. Mostly the adopted one sleeps, like a ton weight, on our bed. That is, when she's not bringing in live mice/voles/shrews for us to catch in the middle of the night, resulting in me trekking to the bottom of the drive, to put them on the drystone wall, wearing only my nightie .

They will both use a litter tray if they have to (snow or heavy rain) but I suspect they prefer the churchyard!

What a great suggestion thank you BBbevan! Going to garden centre tomorrow I’ll get some netting!

Thanks annodomini I’ll give it a try.

Boosgran we covered all our flower beds and veg plot with fine wire netting. Easy to plant through and to weed. But cats can't scrape through it so move on.Worked for years.

Otters ????

Poor otters. Obviously, I meant litter tray!

PaddyAnn, our cat is just the same. Comes in to use the otter tray! Actually, prefer that as I know she is not making a mess i n our , or the neighbours’ gardens.

I meant 39 years

I've had several cats over the course of 29 years, and have only got 1 now. He was feral. until I took him in 8 years ago. He's about 15 we think, and he's in all night. He flatly refuses to use a litter tray (he's always got one there) but goes outside- even when we go on holiday and he's in until the cat-sitter calls, he's never made a mess indoors.

You are correct, Cat Protection does suggest quite strongly that a cat is kept in at night. Mine goes out early am but it is her bladder which brings her home because nowadays she will only use her litter tray. I wish I had her bladder- 7am to 7pm!

It's because a lot of cats go awol and some owners don't care so the " missing " cats turn feral and start destroying the wildlife and as we know, cats soon multiply which adds to the problem of ferals.

Rue is said to deter cats. When I had two cats, one hated it and the other showed no reaction at all. It might be worth a try.